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<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><img width=150 height=95
id="_x0036_2773776-0d78-4f26-9698-8d16d4bb66dd"
src="cid:1D38C67D-02CF-4CA7-B61E-B4609B4664AA@charlottesville.org"
apple-width=yes apple-height=yes></span></font></b><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-weight:bold'> </span></font><u1:p></u1:p></b><o:p></o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-weight:bold'>President Obama’s Green Light to FTA
is a Red Flag for Afro-Colombians</span></font><u1:p></u1:p></b><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font><u1:p></u1:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font><u1:p></u1:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>As President Obama seems to be ready to give green light to Colombia
for the implementation of the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, under the guise
of improvements on labor conditions and human rights, the Black Communities
Process in Colombia raises the question: what it will take for the Obama
administration to understand the severity of Afro-Colombians’ human rights
situation?<o:p></o:p></span></font><u1:p></u1:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Just this year, from January to April, PCN registered ten violent
events that have caused the internal displacement of 35 families in
Buenaventura; three families in the coast of Cauca Department (Guapi and
Timbiqui), to escape the forced recruitment of their children; two leaders
disappeared and later killed by paramilitaries in Curvarado, Choco; five civilians
killed and more than 20 wounded by bombs in Tumaco and Guapi; two death threats
to Community Council leaders, internal displaced and women organizations in
Cauca (16 in total since 2009).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><u1:p></u1:p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>These are just a handful of horrible examples of the
egregious human rights violations against Afro-descendant communities and their
leaders before FTA implementation. Yet we understand that this administration
is prepared to proclaim to the world that human rights situation in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Colombia</st1:place></st1:country-region> is not
an issue anymore. For Afro-Colombians, we are still disproportionably affected
by the internal armed conflict in all its manifestations, we are still the most
impoverished in the country, we are still military target by all armed forces
in urban and rural areas, we still have our lands taken away, we still have all
our basic needs unsatisfied, we still have little opportunities ahead with the
high levels of illiteracy and low levels of high education, we still don’t have
any reliable representation in the government at local, regional and national
levels due to structural practices of corruption and discrimination.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><u1:p></u1:p><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>While President Obama
makes presence in Caratgena, the first land where our African ancestors stepped
foot on after being kidnapped, as part of the first trans Atlantic “free trade
system” in the Americas, to talk about hopes and future for the continent, we
ask: do the African descendant people count?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><u1:p></u1:p><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>If in Colombia there are
men, women and children dying every day of hunger, sexual violence, targeted
killing, lack of health services and victims of the daring economic conditions
in urban and rural settlements; if every day men and women died or lose their
productive capacity as consequences of the physical and emotional circumstances
that they live in; if is most Black people disproportionably impacted by
discrimination and marginalization, why is that the Obama administration does
not recognize these as severe serious human rights violations?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><u1:p></u1:p><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Being human rights
inherent to all human persons, does President Obama considers that the
fundamental rights of Afro-descendants are violated on regular basis in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Colombia</st1:place></st1:country-region>? Or,
it is that Afro-descendants don’t have after all the same rights as the rest of
human beings in the country? As the focus is on labor conditions and union leaders
rights we ask, what about Afro-Colombians?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><u1:p></u1:p><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>President Obama, the
Black Communities’ Process exhorts you to abstain from giving a green light to
the FTA in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Colombia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
and better pay attention to the red flag that all those committed to protect
human rights have been raising for long time now, particularly in regard to
Afro-Colombians.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>With our traditional affirmation of life, joy, hope
and freedom,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><u1:p></u1:p><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Black Communities Process in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Colombia</st1:place></st1:country-region> (PCN)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><u1:p></u1:p><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>International Working
Group in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region><o:p></o:p></span></font><u1:p></u1:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font><u1:p></u1:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Contact information: </span></font>Charo Mina-Rojas at <a href="mailto:charominarojas@gmail.com">charominarojas@gmail.com</a> or (1+34)
760-0663.<u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font><u1:p></u1:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font><u1:p></u1:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> ###########<u1:p></u1:p></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<div style='word-wrap: break-word;-webkit-nbsp-mode: space;-webkit-line-break: after-white-space'>
<div style='word-wrap: break-word;-webkit-nbsp-mode: space;-webkit-line-break: after-white-space'>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Charo Mina Rojas<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>National Advocacy and Outreach Coordinator<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Black Communities' Process (PCN)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>International Working Group, US<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Email: <a href="mailto:charominarojas@gmail.com">charominarojas@gmail.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Cell phone: 434-760-0663<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><a href="http://www.afrocolombians.com">www.afrocolombians.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><a href="http://www.renacientes.org">www.renacientes.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
color=red face=Calibri><span lang=ES-CO style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:red'>"Resistir no es Aguantar"</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face=Calibri><span lang=ES-CO style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Calibri'>To
resist is not to Endure, Mandate of the Fourth National Assembly of PCN</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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